In the not-too-distant past, hours and hours of radio airwaves in Boston were full of callers giving their theories for why the Patriots traded backup quarterback Joe Milton III after a rookie campaign that included a preseason full of highlights, along with a Week 18 game none of us will soon forget (for reasons more than how Milton played, but that’s a different topic for a different day).
Was Drake Maye feeling the heat of a fellow young quarterback trying to make it in this league?
Did Maye force the Patriots to trade Milton?
Did Milton force a trade out of New England behind the scenes, wanting to find a landing spot where he had a better chance of showing off his massive arm on a regular basis?
Were Maye’s parents vocal in their displeasure of the team drafting MIlton the same year as their son?
All of these questions were asked. Many times. For months.
Doesn’t that feel like a decade ago?
Well, old was new again at radio row on Tuesday, as Milton stopped by the WEEI set to chat with Greg Hill, Jermaine Wiggins and Ted Johnson about his time with the Patriots - who without the now-Cowboys backup finished the regular season 14-3, won the AFC, and are now one win away from hoisting a record-setting seventh Lombardi Trophy.
Based on what Milton said on Tuesday, it turns out there may have been something to the rumors that floated last spring of Milton being a bit of a malcontent behind the scenes.
But from his perspective as a competitor, you almost can’t blame the guy.
“I play in the game [just] how I practice,” said Milton. “My shoelaces not tired, I'm running over y'all defense, I'm throwing the ball over your head.
“It got to the point at the Patriots - I'll be honest, I got to the point where I threw a deep ball to my left over [Christian Gonzalez], and while the ball’s in the air, I turned around and [was] just looking at [Jerod] Mayo. Eliot [Wolf] was right there, and they couldn't do nothing but just look at the ball. The ball got completed. He scored. Scout team receiver scored. And they just shook their head. You know what I mean? It got to that point.”
“Would it have been different if Jerod Mayo had talked to you about it and done a better job?” Hill asked Milton in a follow-up.
Milton said, “I think it'd been different if - when Jacoby [Brissett] was the starter, Drake was the backup, I was the emergency quarterback. When you moved Drake up to start, what should Jacoby now do? He got his job took, right?
“Yeah, so you should move up,” Hill interjected.
“Right,” said Milton. “But you don't do that, right? You keep him at the two, because he's a vet. Well, he's not taking reps, right? It's just me and Drake, the only one practicing. But he's still the two.
“I mean, I just felt disrespected.”
That perceived disrespect and his reaction to it could have been the main driver of why Milton and a seventh round pick were traded to Dallas (7-9) in exchange for a fifth rounder.
“Bazooka Joe” went on to appear in four games for the Cowboys in 2025, going 15 for 24 as a passer for 183 yards, 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions.
Meanwhile in New England, Maye went on to have a miraculous MVP caliber season in year No. 2, as his backup QB in Josh Dobbs threw just 10 passes while appearing in four games of his own.
Doesn’t sound like the type of situation Milton would have enjoyed all that much, albeit pretty similar to what we saw from him in the NFC East in 2025.
Regardless of how this all went down, the Patriots have much bigger things to worry about in the coming days.
You can hear Kevin Harlan and Kurt Warner on the national radio call of Super Bowl LX on Westwood One. We’ll have that broadcast for you right here on 93.7 WEEI-FM in Boston, and across the WEEI Sports Radio Network in New England.
Tune in each and every Monday throughout the football season to Patriots Monday on WEEI. Head coach Mike Vrabel joins The Greg Hill Show at 6:30 a.m. ET, and quarterback Drake Maye joins WEEI Afternoons.